Debate to centre on PM’s powers as Parliament returns

OTTAWA — The speech from the throne and the federal budget will be the top two items on Parliament’s agenda when it reconvenes Wednesday after a lengthy and controversial prorogation.

But the biggest political flashpoints in the coming session are likely to come over two other items that have a common denominator: attempts by the House of Commons to put some restrictions on the traditional powers and privileges of the prime minister.

“I think it’s going to be a fairly intense session,” said NDP House Leader Libby Davies. “It’s going to be a difficult working environment.”

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has defended the decision to prorogue by saying his government needed to “recalibrate” its agenda.

The fruits of that recalibration will be the first two items on Parliament’s agenda this week.

On Wednesday, Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean will read the speech from the throne, the document that will lay out the Harper government’s agenda. That speech, which officials say will be a lengthy one, is expected to explain how the government must prepare for a post-recession Canada by focusing on innovation and improving productivity.

Then, on Thursday, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty will present the House of Commons with the federal budget for 2010-11. Flaherty and other government officials have been saying for weeks that the budget will contain few surprises for the fiscal year that ends in 2011.

The government will confirm $19 billion in stimulus spending — the second year of the two-year economic action plan approved in last year’s budget — and will not change taxes, up or down.

To deal with the biggest deficits in history, the government is expected, however, to present a “road map” to return to balanced budgets within, possibly, five years. That road map will lean heavily on controlling or cutting government spending, beginning in 2011.

“The government’s gone through this two-month prorogation for completely fictitious and, you might even say, fraudulent reasons,” said Liberal House Leader Ralph Goodale.

“They say they have been mightily recalibrating . . . but it doesn’t appear there’s anything particularly new or different that’s on the horizon.”

The “fraud” that Goodale refers to is Harper’s claim that he needed a prorogation period to recalibrate when, in the opposition’s view, Harper abused his executive privilege to avoid what could have been difficult questions for the government on the issue of the possible abuse of Afghan detainees.

A committee of the House of Commons had been investigating allegations that Canadian officials knew in 2006, and possibly at other times, that they were handing over Afghan insurgents to certain torture by Afghan authorities, a war crime.

Prorogation shut down that committee and all others.

Harper also prorogued Parliament a year ago to avoid losing a confidence vote and seeing his government replaced by a Liberal-NDP coalition led by Stephane Dion.

Opposition MPs, and many academic experts, argue a prime minister should not be able to prorogue to avoid the scrutiny of the House of Commons, as Harper appears to have now done twice in the space of 14 months. The Liberals want restrictions on prorogation that could affect the balance of the power forever between the prime minister and the House of Commons.

Meanwhile, the opposition will try to have the government found in “contempt of Parliament” — a serious charge that could lead to confidence votes and an election, for failing to obey a resolution of the House of Commons to produce documentary evidence requested by that Afghanistan committee.

The outcome of that debate, too, is likely to forever colour the relationship of the executive branch of government — cabinet and the prime minister — with the Commons.

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